Body-treatmenti machine



J. P.'GARDNER.

Bonv TREATMENT MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED'JULY 6.1914.

Patented June 3, 1919.

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1'. P. GARDNER.

BODY TREATMENT MACHINE,

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6,1914.

afente June 3, 1919.

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wwyia J. P, GARDNER.

BODY TREATMENT MACHINE.

HLED JULY 6, 1914.

APPLICATION 1 I LS. Patent-ed June 3, 1919.

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BODY TREATMENT MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6.1914.

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BODY TREATMENT MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED luLY 6.1914.

Patented June 3, 1919.

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BODY TREATMENT MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 6.1914.

1,305,595. Patented June 3,1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

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, JAMES i. GARDNER,

or cn'IoaGo, iLLiNoIsnssIGNon To THE REDUCING MACHINE ACOMPANY, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS;

BODY-TREATMENT MACHINE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 3, 1919.

Appiiaaon mea Juiy e, 1914. f sriai No. 849,242.

To all ywhom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMEsP. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements invBody-Treatinent Machines, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to a machine ,for producing a massaging or rolling` action on the body or limbs of a person'. Such action or treatmentV is considered beneficial for re-l ducing the size of corpulent persons, for exercising the muscles of the body, and for treatment in variouscases. Among the objects of the present invention are to provide amachine for giving such bodily treatment, which will be exceedingly effective iii action,

and will serve to act upon a large poitioii'of the body at one time; which is provided with sure as well as a balanced massaging action;

which is arranged for ready adjustinentyto different sized persons; and in general, toA

provide an improved machine of thischaiacter suoli as will be more fully describedV hereinafter. Y y

In the accompanying. drawings illustrat` ing this invention:

`Figure'l is a' plan view of the machine; Figi?I is a side elevation, parts being shown diagrammatieally or broken away for convenience in illustration; Y

Fig. 3 is a front view of the machine; v.

Fig. .4 is a rear view, parts also being broken away; i

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional viewshowingthe base of the machine, parts also being broken away toillustrate the interior coiistruction Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view Ytaken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Figs. 7 and 8 are details of the rollers and brackets;

F ig. 9 is a partial plan view showing a modified controlling arrangement; and

Fig. 1Q is a partial sideelevation showing such modified form of control.

The machine comprises a frame 12 having a base 13 and upper horizontal members 14 and. 15, the base and horizontal members being connected by means of posts 16. lVertical shafts 17 and 18 are mounted inthe frame 13 and are rotated in opposite directions by means of any suitable driving arrangement. For instance,as shown in Fig.

5, tlieseshafts are provided with worm gears 19 and 20, which are engaged by worms 20 and 21V ona horizontal driving shaft 22,

which shaft is mounted in bearings in an oilVV box 23, and is driven by a motor 24. This motor may be of anysuitable type of prime mover, but in the machines which I have actually constructed in accordance with this inventioml have used both alternating and direct current electric motors, the latter usugally or frequently being of the reversing type. i On account of the worms drivingtlie shafts in opposite directions, the thrust on the driving Vshaft is substantially equalized. The upper ends of the shafts 17 and 18 are provided respectively with pairs of sprocket wheels 25 and 26. Two chains 27, 27 engage with the sprocket wheels 25, and two otherV chains 28, 28 engage with the sprocket wheels 26. The chains -27 pass around three other sets of sprocket wheels 29, 30 and 31. The

chains 28 pass over three other sets of'V sprocket wheels 32, 33 andr34. The sprocket wheels V31 and 34 are mounted respectively on arms or yokes 35 and 36, Vthe inner ends of these arms or yokes being fixed to vertical shafts 37 and 38. These shafts lare mounted in bearings in the frame and are provided at the Vbottom with worm gears 39 and 40. These gears areengaged by right and left hand worms 41 and 42 on a horizontal shaft 43, mounted in bearings from the base 13.l The shaft 43 is turned for the pur- 1 pose of rotating the vertical shafts 37 and V38 to, swing the arms 35 and 36 in or out as thecase may be, for adjusting the rollers or massage4 devices to the patient or person being treated. For the convenience'of'tlie operator, the shaft 43 is Vprovidedwith a sprocket wheel 44, and a chain 45 leads from this wheel to a smaller'sprockct wheel 46,

mounted on a stub shaft 47, which shaftis carried in a bracket on one of the posts 1G and is turned by means of a crank 48.

As the arms 35 and 36 swing in or out, the distance between the sprockets carried thereby, and Vthe sprockets on the driving shafts 17 and 18 is shortened or lengthened, and therefore means must be provided for keeping the chains tight. For this reason the sprockets 29 and 32 are mounted respectively on shafts 19 and 50 at the outer ends of arms or yokes 51 and 52, such arms or yokes being pivoted upon the shafts 17 and 18, or concentric therewith. Arms 53 and 54 are connected with the upper and lower ends of the shaft 49, and the outer ends of these arms are connected by means of a rod 55. Simi lar arms 56 and 57 are connected to the upper and lower ends of the shaft 50 and the outer ends of these arms are connected by. a rod 58. Ropes or cables 59 and 60 lead from the rods 55 and 58 rearwardly over pulleys 61 and 62 and down to winding drums 63 and 64;, to which they are connected. The drums are secured to a horizontal shaft 65 which is mounted in a bracket 66, secured to the rear post 16. Another drum 67 is also secured to the shaft 65 and has a rope or cable 68 and weight 69 connected therewith. The drum 67 is preferably larger than the winding drums 63 and 64, and the arrangement is such that the tension due to the weight will be transmitted to the cables 59 and 60, this tension being suiiicient to swing the arms 51 and 52 to take up any slack in thc chains, and thereby to keep the chains in proper position. The arms 53, 54, 56 and 57 are provided with stops 70 which engage with the upper frame members to limit the inward movement of such arms.

Vhile the weight 69 will giveJ a certain amount of tension to the roller carrying chains, which tension is transmitted in the form of pressure to the person being Operated upon, it is frequently desirable to increase the pressure, and such pressure is preferably regulated by the operator. In order to do this, the shaft 65 is provided with a hand wheel 71 or otherconvenient means for turning the same. It is also pro vided with a ratchet wheel 72 which is engaged by a pawl 73 pivoted on the bracket 66, as shown in Fig. 2. This pawl is thrown into and out of engagement by means of an arm 74 which is mounted on the pivot 75 with the pawl and has a weight at its upper end. stop pins 76 and 77 on the side of the pawl. Vhen the weighted upper end is swung against the pin 77, it throws the pawl into engagement and when swung against the pin 76, it tends to throw the pawl out of engagement. By throwing the pawl into engagement and turning the wheel clockwise as seen in Fig. 2, the operator will wind up on the cables 59 and 60, and thereby increase the tension on the carrier chains. When the tension is to be released, the weighted arm 74 is thrown to the left so that it presses against the pin 76, then by This arm moves freely between two` slightly relieving the pressure on the pawl the weight will throw the pawl out of engagement and the hand wheel is released.

The pairs of chains 27 and 28 are respectively provided with brackets 78 and 79 for receiving rollers 8O and 81. These rollers may be made of any suitable material and of such configuration as desired, but in actual practice I have found it desirable to make them cylindrical in form and to make them of wood. These rollers engage with theperson to be acted upon, such persons ordinarily wearing a gown of heavy material such as duck in order to prevent the rollers engaging directly with the body. On account of this protection to the body, the pressure on the contact devices or massage devices may be very much greater than if the devices acted directly on the skin. This permits a deeper massage action without any appreciable friction, and thereby prevents abrasion of the skin. I have found the particular construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8 very desirable. In order to make the brackets sufficiently stiff to withstand the considerable pressure and in order to avoid any considerable projections yat the ends of the rollers which might injure the person by coming in contact with the arms or other portions of the body, these brackets are made of channels, with the ends 82 bent over to form bearings for the rods 83. These rods are riveted to the bent over ends and are provided with oil holes for oiling the rollers, which turn directly on the rods.

The person to be acted upon is supported by a platform, mensa or table 84 which is vertically adjustable to accommodate persons of different heights. This adjustment is provided by having a base 85 which is secured to the main base 13 and is threaded to receive a cylinder 86, which in turn is threaded to receive a stem 87 secured to the platform 84. The threads on the stem and cylinder are pitched in opposite directions 110 and the cylinder 86 is provided with a hand wheel 88 so that by turning this wheel, the platform is moved up and down, the rear end of the platform being provided with guides 89 which engage with the shafts 1.7 115 and 18 to prevent the platform from turnino'.

The shafts 90 and 91 at the outer ends of the arms 35 and 36, upon which the outer sprocket wheels are mounted, are provided at their upper ends with combined guards and handles 92 and 93. The horizontal guard portions of these members extend out a sufiicient distance so as to prevent the pa.- tient from getting his fingers down into the chains and sprockets, and the upper knobs provide handles whereby the patient may support himself in different Vpositions on the platform and may also push against these arms in order to increase the pressure on different parts of the body. Boards 94and 95 are pivoted to the upper frame members and swing in a horizontal plane, theseV desired. These arms are provided at their outer ends with pawls 96 which engage with stationary ratchets 97, (Fig. 2) so that the position of the armsmay be adjusted as de- Y sired and the arms will then remainin ad- )usted position. Ordinarily these arms will extend forward at an angle of about 45 degrees `to the medial line of the machine.

The rollers 80 and 81 `are approximately 18 inches long and 1925 inches in .diameter in my preferred form of machine, Vand it is the action of these rollers against the body which produces the desired results. The treatment may be taken in the machine in Y various ways in order to have the rollers act upon different portions of the body. TheV most common practice is for the person to be operated upon to swing the boards or supports 94 and 95 forwardly and then take Y a position onthe platform facing 'either toV the front or back of the machine as may be desired. tangent, as it'were, to the side of the body. rIheoperator then turns the crank 48 so as Y to swing the arms and 36 inwardly, thereby bringing lthe sprockets carried thereby toward each other and simultaneously causing the adjacent flights of the chains 27 and 28 to wrap around the sides of the bodyV until these flights arebrought around the sides of the person and'form segments substantially concentric with the body of the pa-V tient. YIn other words, the chainsr are wrapped around the sides ofthe person so as to bring the rollers practically in contact with all portions lof the body included'bef tween the two sets of rollers. Any slack due to the swinging in of the arms 35 and 36 is Vautomatically taken up by the weight 69.

acting through the cables and connections above described. The arms 35 and 36 may bc swung in a sufficient distance so as to give any desired pressure from forward to back of the person without further'tightening of the chains. If it isdesired to increase `the pressure by tightening the roller bearing chains, this is done by means ofthe hand wheel 71 in the manner heretofore described. rIhe motor may be started to drive the roller The line of rollers will then be culated to givedcsirable results, particularly in reducing the size of corpulent persons. rlhe machine is also found to be beneficial for .therapeutical treatments, stimulation ofv the action of the organs, and the like. In some instances the-patient will sit upon the platformand merely press the back against the rollers. In fact, the machine may be utilizedin a large variety of ways in order to give the necessary treatment to different portions of the body. One of the important features of this machine is the balancedlac-V tion of the rollers or massage devices. Yllhen the person is inthe machine with the massage devices acting from the opposite sides of the body7 the pressure of one set of devices is counter-acted by the pressure of the ovpposite set of devices, thereby giving an exceedingly flexible and yielding action, although one whichV is exceedingly efficient, and which is, at the same time. agreeable to the person being acted upon.

Although the machine will ordinarily be operated by an attendantfyet in some instances it may be advantageous to arrange them toI be operated by the person receiving the treatment. This may be arranged in any` convenient manner; for instance as` shown in Figs. 9`and 10, a'sprocket wheel 98 which corresponds with the sprocket wheel 46 is secured to a shaft 99 mounted inV Y a bracket at the top of the frame, and Y this shaft is provided with a crank 101.` The chain runs over the sprocket wheel 98 tothe main sprocket 44, and the crank 100 is posi-` tioned at any convenient point so that the person in the machine may turn the same to operate the front swinging arms. InV this construction the shaft 65 with itsV hand wheel 71 and connected devices is positioned Vat the top ofthe machine whereit can be operated by the personV in the machine instead of anV attendant. The operation is substanf tially thesame as abovedescribed. Y.

VAlthough I have `found in actual practice that the machineas shown and described is exceedingly efficient and satisfactory in operation, itis'obvious that various changes may be made which will come within the scope of thisrinvention, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself tothe; exact construction yor arrangement herein, shown, except as specified in the following claims,vinV which I claim': Y Y

1.VY In a machine of the character set forth,

the combination of a pluralityof non-yielding antiffriction massage devices arranged to Vbe applied to opposite sidesof the body,

means for'moving said massage devices, and Y means'for adjusting the pressure of said devices against the body whereby the pressure of the devices onV one side of the body will be resisted by the pressure of theY devices on the opposite side of the body. Y

2. In a machine of .the character set forth,

the combination of a plurality of non-yield ing anti-friction massage devices arranged for engagement with opposite sides of the body, means for operating said devices, and means for adjusting the pressure of said devices in a substantially radial manner with respect to the body, whereby the pressure of the devices on one side of the body will be resisted by the devices on the opposite side of the body.

3. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of oppositely disposed eXible roller carrying devices, rollers mounted on said devices, tension devices for placing a predetermined tension on said flexible roller carrying devices, and co-acting means for manually increasing the tension on said'devices. A

4. In a massage machine, the combination of a pair of belts, massage rollers mounted on said belts, take-up devices for said belt-s, cables connected with said devices, guide sheaves for said cables, drums with which said cables connect, a shaft carrying said drums, a weight connected with said shaft for placing a tension on said cables, a hand wheel on said shaft for increasing the tension on the cables, and means for holding said shaft in adjusted position.

5. In a massage machine, the combination of chains, massage devices carried by said chains, movable take-up sprockets for said chains, tension cables, connecting means between said cables and said sprockets, guide sheaves for said cables, a shaft, drums on said shaft for said cables, another drum on said shaft, a cable connected on said last named drum, a weight carried by said cable, means for manually Jturning said shaft, a ratchet wheel on said shaft, and a pawl adapted to engage with said ratchet wheel.

6. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a frame, massage devices carried by said frame, an adjustable platform at the bottom of the frame, oppositely disposed swinging supports at the top of Jhe frame for supporting the arms of the person in the machine, and means for holding said supports in adjusted position.

7. The combination in a massage machine of the character set forth, of a frame, mas sage devices carried by said frame, supports pivoted at the top of the frame for supporting the arms of the person in the machine, racks on said frame, and pawls on said supports engaging with said racks and adapted to hold the supports in adjusted position.

8. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a frame, oppositely disposed massaging devices carried by said frame, a threaded base mounted on said frame centrally of said massaging devices, a tubular threaded member engaging with said base, a hand wheel for said threaded member, a threaded stem engaging with the inner threaded portion of the tubular member, and a platform carried by said stem, said threads being oppositely pitched so that when the wheel is turned the platform will be moved vertically.

9. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of vertically arranged shafts, massage devices operated by said shafts, worm gears on said shafts, a third shaft arrangedadjacent to said gears, bea-rings for said last named shaft, worms on said shaft engaging with said gears, said worms and gears being pitched in Opposite directions to equalize the thrust, and means for turning said worm shaft.

l0. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination with the adjustable body treatment device, of means whereby the person in the machine may adjust the treatment devices around the body, and means whereby he may also adjust the tension of the devices.

1l. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination with the flexible carriers having non-yielding body treatment devices carried thereby, 0f means for bringing said devices into operative relation with the body, and means whereby the person acted upon may adjust the tension of said carriers.

12. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a frame, oppositely disposed flexible carriers, means for supporting and adjusting said carriers, rollers mounted on said carriers, said adjusting means rbeing arranged to be operated by the person to be acted upon, to bring the rollers into operative relation with. the body, and means for adjusting the tension on said carriers, said means also being arranged to be operated by the person being acted upon.

13. The combination of a frame, an ad-V justable platform at the bottom of said frame, horizontally arranged flexible carriers at the top of the frame, rollers on said carriers, driving shafts for driving said carriers, means for turning said shafts, swinging arms for adjusting the position of the carriers at the 'front of the machine, shafts carrying said swinging arms, means vfor turning said shafts simultaneously in opposite directions for adjusting the arms, said means being arranged to be operated by the person to be acted upon, take-up devices for taking up the slack in the carriers and holding them in position, and means operable by the person acted upon for increasing the tension on said carriers whereby the pressure ofthe rollers against the body may be regulated.

14V.. The combination of a frame, two shafts arranged vertically at the back of the frame, worm gears on said shafts, a driving shaft, worms on said driving shaft engaging with said gears, a motor for turning said driving shaft, pairs of sprockets at the top of each of said shafts, chain belts engaging with said sprockets, guide sprockets at the sides of the frame for said belts, swinging arms at the front Yof the `frame, guide sprockets for said belts carried by said arms, swinging arms atfthe rear or' the frame, guide sprockets for said belts carried by said rear arms, rollers kor the like carried by said belts and adapted to engage with the opposite sides of the person to be treated, means for swinging said first named arms to bring the rollers into operative relation with the person being treated,

tension devices for said last named arms for adapted to engage with the opposite sides of a person positioned between the carriers, supports for said carriers, a hand Wheel adapted to be operated by the person in the machine, connections between said hand wheel and one of said supports for moving the support, whereby the pressure of the massage devices against the body may be adjusted, and a ratchet and pawl associated Copies of this patentmay be obtained for with said hand wheel for holding the parts in adjusted position.

1G. In a massage machine, thecombination of oppositely disposed horizontally arranged yielding carriers, means for moving said carriers in a horizontal direction, nonyielding massage devices mounted on said carriers and adapted to engage with the opposite sides of the body of a person positionedVY between the carriers, and means which may be operated by the person in the machine for adjusting the pressure of the devices against the body.

17. In a Ymachine of the character setV and one of said carriers, whereby the car-V rier may be adjusted to adjust the pressureY ofthe devices against the body, a ratchet wheel connected with said hand wheel, and a pawl for holding the wheels in adjusted position.

JAMES P.I GARDNER.

Witnesses:

E. V. GUsTAFsoN, LEE J. PITNER,

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, Il. C. 

